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Collateral Damage (2002)
It's been some time now since we've had a really good Arnold Schwarzenegger film. He's getting older and it's subsequently that much harder to believe him in action roles. Collateral Damage is yet another action role for him but this time he works inside a brainier script than normal and gets the opportunity to do some actual acting. Even more surprising, he never once fires a gun in the movie.
The story is that of Los Angeles fireman Gordon Brewer. He is scheduled to meet his wife and son one afternoon. Brewer is running a little late and his family has stopped for a little lunch. Unfortunately they are next door to the Colombian consulate which is the target for a bombing by a terrorist known as El Lobo (Cliff Curtis). Brewer's family is killed in the bombing and he himself is injured. However, he later realizes that he got a good look at the bomber and goes to the FBI with the information. It doesn't take long before Brewer is unhappy with the progress of the government in tracking down the man who murdered his family. He starts to hatch his own plan to deliver justice.
Now admittedly most people wouldn't actually head down to Columbia to try and track down this terrorist and kill him with their bare hands. Most people aren't starring in action movies either so we'll just accept a few stretches of believability for the sake of the genre. As long as we aren't ask to believe too much at once, there isn't a problem. This film is plainly aware of that and only occasionally has Brewer doing something that defies belief and even then it doesn't push it too hard.
The most surprising thing about this film is that it has a brain. This isn't a shoot 'em up film running on autopilot. It has actual ideas and makes an attempt to flesh out the villain rather than leaving him an evil cardboard cutout. Not only that but the script has some surprises in store for the audience, leaving little tidbits of information around to keep them guessing and eventually making them pay off in the end.
The film has an excellent cast of supporting actors who help to keep things from slipping back into the generic action standards. Elias Koteas does a nice job as a government agent charged with wiping out these Colombian terrorists. John Turturro makes a brief appearance to steal every scene in sight. John Leguizamo makes a similar appearance, adding some needed to levity to the proceedings. The insanely gorgeous Francesca Neri has a nice role of murky loyalties. Even the really small roles go to actors who will have you saying "that's that guy that was in (fill in movie name)" over and over again.
I would be remiss in not mentioning that this movie's release was delayed in the wake of the terrorist attack of 9/11. This was probably a wise move as parts of this movie have a more than passing resemblance to real events. Whether audiences are quite ready to deal with a terrorist themed movie yet or not remains to be seen.
Not all is perfect with this film of course. There is one special effects sequence that really could have stood some more work. It doesn't do a convincing job and is thus distracting, robbing a scene of its tension. Later when Arnold wanders through the streets of some Colombian town with half the country looking for him, you have to wonder why an enormous man with an Austrian accent doesn't stand out a bit more. Later in the film a major character does something so cold and cruel it's a little hard to believe.
Basically we're talking an action movie which requires certain leaps of faith. It's a bit easier to take thanks to some fairly bright writing. Schwarzenegger gets a chance to make a slow transition toward acting and one of the better films he's made in a number of years. Unfortunately, current events will hang heavily and somewhat unfairly on it. But if you're willing to judge the film on it's own merits, something many critics would never consider, you should find this to be an enjoyable way to pass a couple hours.
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